The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government of the United States of America for Governmental purposes without the payment of any royalties thereon or therefor.
(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to free-floating devices, and more particularly to a free-floating system that adaptively adjusts to wave motion in order to maintain a predetermined altitude of the system at the water""s surface or at some predetermined depth.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
A variety of floating systems are used to keep radio or acoustic communication links above the water""s surface. Frequently, to maintain operable communication links, it is necessary for the communication equipment (e.g., acoustic, optical, electronic, etc.) to maintain a stable or constant altitude. This is especially true when the communication equipment is part of a tracking system where changes in altitude can cause signal disturbances that lead to corrupt distance measurements.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a system that can freely float at the water""s surface and adaptively stabilize itself in terms of altitude in the presence of wave motion.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a free-floating altitude stabilized system for maintaining a floating body at a predetermined altitude in the water in the presence of wave motion.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more obvious hereinafter in the specification and drawings.
In accordance with the present invention, a free-floating altitude stabilized system includes a body that is buoyant in the water at a predetermined water depth. A plurality of wire coils are linearly aligned with one another in a vertical direction and coupled to the body. Each wire coil is independently energizable such that an induced magnetic field is generated by any of the wire coils that are energized. A float is coupled to the body in such a way that it is capable of independent movement relative thereto. A magnet, fixedly coupled to the float, emits a magnetic field. A control system is provided to energize a selected one or more of the wire coils in such a way the magnetic field and induced magnetic field react with one another to generate movement of the float vertically in a direction that is the same as a vertical component of wave motion.